Takeaki Sakurai

Energy band bending induced charge accumulation at fullerene/bathocuproine heterojunction interface

The electronic properties of fullerene (C60)/bathocuproine (BCP)/Ag heterostructures were studied as a function of the BCP layer thickness by photoemission spectroscopy. For the thin BCP layer, the energy levels are flat and gap states exist at the interface. In contrast, energy band bending occurs at the C60/BCP interface when the BCP layer is thick, resulting in a considerable barrier for electron transport and therefore causing charge accumulation in organic solar cells. The results reveal that a thin BCP layer gives a much more favorable energy level structure and conform that charge accumulation is responsible to the anomalous current-voltage (I-V) curve.

Molecular mixing in donor and acceptor domains as investigated by scanning transmission X-ray microscopy

The nanolevel molecular structure of a bulk heterojunction (BHJ) with a donor (D) polymer and acceptor (A) fullerene derivative is indispensable for true comprehension of highly efficient organic photovoltaic devices. Here, we performed scanning transmission X-ray microscopy of a poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-bithiophene) (F8T2)/[6,6]-phenyl C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) blend film with periodic nanostructure. The spatially resolved carbon K-edge absorption spectra revealed that the nanostructure consists of two types of domains with considerable molecular mixing. The fullerene mass fraction is 71 ± 1 and 33 ± 2 wt % for the PC71BM- and F8T2-rich domains, respectively.

Improvement of Stability for Small Molecule Organic Solar Cells by Suppressing the Trap Mediated Recombination

To understand the degradation mechanism of organic solar cells (OSCs), the charge dynamics of conventional and inverted planar heterojunction OSCs based on boron subthalocyanine chloride (SubPc) and fullerene (C60) with identical buffers during the air exposure were investigated. The results of light intensity dependent open circuit voltage show that the bimolecular recombination is dominated in the fresh devices, regardless of the device structure. The appearance of transient peak in photocurrent after turn-on and the light intensity independent turn-off traces in transient photocurrent suggest that the rapid degradation of conventional device is due to the energy loss originated from the aggravated trap mediated recombination. In contrast, the half-lifetime of inverted device is ∼25 times longer than the conventional one. The improvement of stability is ascribed to the decrease of the trap generation possibility and the suppression of trap mediated recombination in the case of inverted structure, where the penetration of oxygen and water through buffer layer is avoided.

Favorable electronic structure for organic solar cells induced by strong interaction at interface

To clarify the role of buffer layer in organic solar cells (OSCs), the electronic properties of bathocuproine (BCP)/Mg interface were systematically investigated by using ultraviolet photoemissions spectroscopy, high-resolution X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, angle-resolved X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. The results show there are gap states at the interface, which are caused by the interaction between BCP and Mg. The formation of Mg-N bond was found at the interface. The NEXAFS measurements show that BCP molecules for 1-2 monolayers are lying-down on the substrate, whereas orient randomly for thick BCP layer. It was supposed that the gap states and the highly-ordered orientation of thin BCP layer are the reasons for improving the performance of OSC with BCP buffer layer and low work function metal cathode.

Effect of bathocuproine buffer layer in small molecule organic solar cells with inverted structure

Inverted organic solar cells (OSCs) based on boron subphthalocynine chloride (SubPc) and fullerene (C60) were fabricated and the device structure was optimized by inserting a bathocuproine (C26H20N2) buffer layer. The power conversion efficiency was greatly improved from 0.8 to 1.6%. The roles of bathocuproine in this inverted device were investigated by photoluminescence and transient photovoltage/photocurrent measurements. The results show that the bathocuproine in the device not only blocks the exciton quenching, but also prohibits the build-up of charge trapping and suppresses the trap-assisted recombination.

Energy level alignment at interfaces between 3-(4-biphenylyl)-4-phenyl-5-(4-tert-butyl phenyl)-1, 2, 4-triazole (TAZ) and metals (Ca, Mg, Ag, and Au): experiment and theory

We have performed ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy measurements and density functional theory calculations to study the electronic structure at the interface between organic semiconductor (3-(4-biphenylyl)-4-phenyl-5-(4-tert-butyl phenyl)-1,2,4-triazole (TAZ)) and metals (Ca, Mg, Ag, and Au). The basic mechanism of interface states at organic–metal interfaces can be understood by controlling the injection of charge carriers at these interfaces. The position of highest occupied molecular orbital relative to the Fermi level and the magnitude of the interface dipole are measured for each organic–metal interface. For TAZ on Ca, Mg, and Ag, interface states are observed near the Fermi level. However, no interface state is observed for TAZ on Au. It is analyzed qualitatively that the interface state is formed due to interaction of TAZ lowest unoccupied molecular orbital composed of C2p and metal s levels. It is suggested that the interface state plays an important role in charge transport at the interface. The mechanism of formation of interface states and electrical properties are discussed.

Role of electrode buffer layers in organic solar cells

A systematic study on the energy level alignment, electron doping, and exciton quenching at interfaces between bathocuproine (BCP) buffer layers and various types of metal cathodes in organic solar cells (OSCs) was carried out by performing ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), electronic conductivity, and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. Suppression of energy losses, such as low contact resistance and reduction of exciton quenching, were found at the metal cathodes with the BCP buffer layers. Impact of buffer/cathode interface properties on the performance of OSCs is discussed in detail.

Energy Level Alignment of C60/Ca Interface with Bathocuproine as an Interlayer Studied by Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy

The energy level alignment of C60/bathocuproine (BCP)/Ca interfaces as a function of BCP layer thickness has been studied by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that the energy level alignment is very sensitive to the BCP layer thickness. The energy levels of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of C60 and BCP were found to be almost the same when the thickness of BCP interlayer is less than 1.6 nm. Such energy level alignment, which is favorable to the carrier transport, may be caused by an interaction between C60 and Ca, where Ca passed through the BCP interlayer and diffused to the C60 layer. The role and optimum design for BCP interlayer were discussed.